How to Avoid the Time-Sucking Side of Social Media

Have you ever ventured on to social media only to look up and see an entire hour has passed with very little to show for it? While the same thing can happen in a chamber executive’s day, the key to avoiding the time-sucking side of social media is to be more deliberate in your actions. To do so, follow these easy tips.

Avoid the Time-Sucking Side of Social Media

Set a timer. Don’t allow minutes to tick by without you knowing it.

Schedule your posts so you don’t spend time on social media doing that. Your time should be spent interacting.

Select 3-5 people each day to interact with. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

Treat it like a scheduled task. If you’re dedicating 15 minutes to it in the morning and in the afternoon, do just that.

Ask a question and then come back later to respond to the answers.

Turn off notifications from social media when it’s not social media time.

Check your lists of people you follow (on Twitter you should have a list of important people to you and the chamber) to see what they are up to.

Create an editorial calendar and use a swipe file so you always have content to post and schedule.

Schedule evergreen content but pull out individual things about the article that are different. Don’t post with the exact same intro each time. Use pull quotes and other valuable phrases to lure new eyes.

Ask yourself if what you’re doing is bringing you closer to your business goals or distracting you. Every action on social media will be one or the other.

Post consistently throughout the day. Don’t set aside 15 minutes and post 5 times in three minutes. Spread your content out for the best effect.

Have a task each time you log on. I’ve often written in this blog that it’s important to use your “stolen moments” for social media. However, that does not mean watching kitten videos. Always have a task in mind. For instance, if you know you’ll have downtime before or after the meeting, plan on using it to search for people talking about your area or use it to connect with potential member “B.”

Social media can be a lot of fun and extremely distracting. If you’re using it for the chamber, you need to be disciplined about the limited time you have.

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Frank Kenny is a successful entrepreneur, chamber member, chamber board member, chamber board of directors chair, and chamber President/CEO. He now coaches chamber professionals, consults with chambers, trains staff and members, and speaks professionally. He helps Chambers and Chamber Professionals reach their goals. See full bio.Christina R. Green teaches chambers, associations and small businesses how to connect through content. Her articles have appeared in the Midwest Society of Association Executives’ Magazine, NTEN.org, AssociationTech, and Socialfish. She is a regular guest blogger on this site and Event Managers Blog. Christina is just your average bookish writer on a quest to bring great storytelling to organizations everywhere.Visit her site or connect with her on Twitter @christinagsmith.